Canadians launch new careers, return to school as COVID-19 rages on
TORONTO — When COVID-19 swept across Canada last year, Andre Mazerolle’s five-year career in marketing ground to a halt as he was laid off from his job.
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Gutted, the Oshawa, Ont. man poured himself into his motorcycle hobby while he tried to plot the next phase in his working life. Then a chance conversation with a friend made him realize there was a way to do both.

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“She said, ‘Hey, I got laid off too and I’m working at a motorcycle store selling parts and accessories….You should come and work with me,'” Mazerolle recalled.
“A week later, I was at the motorcycle store … doing something I was passionate about.”
Faced with hiring freezes, wage cuts and layoffs forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians like Mazerolle are making dramatic career changes. Others are seeking skills upgrades or shifting their hours after realizing